Hay is an essential diet for your rabbits, there are several advantages of feeding them enough hay.
Hay helps your rabbits to wear down their ever-growing teeth, it also helps proper movement in your rabbit’s guts, and finally, it helps to keep your rabbit busy which reduces depression and boredom.
As a rabbit caretaker, you have heard about the importance of feeding hay to your rabbits. Like every other herbivore animal, bunnies feed on plant material and other roughage.
Rabbits in the wild consume grass and hay. The best way to meet up with the dietary needs of your hungry rabbit is to feed them a good amount of fresh grass hay daily.
Hay is the most important part of your rabbit diet and should not be joked with. Your rabbit diet should contain about 80 – 90%. Make sure that your rabbits have easy access to Hay.
How to Choose the Best Hay for Rabbits
Choosing the best hay for your rabbits is not as simple as you thought. There are several things to consider before choosing hay for your rabbits.
To choose the best hay you have to consider its nutritional values and if your rabbit enjoys eating much hay.
The nutritional component we should look out for are proteins, fiber, and calcium which are needed for the digestive and dental health of your rabbits.
The Best Hay For to Choose for Your Rabbit
Below is the list of the best hay for your rabbit.
- Western Timothy & Orchard Blend
- Organic Meadow Hay
- Timothy Meadow Hay
- Compressed Hay Stacks (Harvest Stacks)
- Timothy Hay
- Orchard Grass Hay
- Oat Hay
1. Western Timothy Hay
Some veterinarians have suggested that western Timothy Hay is among the best hay to feed your rabbit with. This hay is the most common and popular hay for rabbits.
This is because western Timothy Hay has the nutritional composition and taste that most rabbits enjoy.
This hay also provides rabbits with the required fibers and also helps in balancing protein and calcium content in rabbits.
For the reason listed above Timothy Hay is the best way to feed your rabbits.
2. Orchard Grass Hay
Orchard Grass Hay is soft, sweet, and also adored by many rabbits. In terms of sweetness and softness, orchard Grass Hay is better than Timothy Hay.
If you notice that your rabbit is no longer comfortable eating Timothy Hay or other coarser hay. Orchard Grass is the best option we recommend.
Feed your rabbit with orchard Grass Hay if your rabbits prefer softer and sweeter hay.
You can mix or combine Timothy Hay and Orchard Grass for more enriched diets.
3. Oat Hay
Your rabbits will like this crunchy and hearty hay.
However, every bunny has its preference when it comes to choosing hay. If your rabbit is not comfortable feeding Timothy and orchard Grass Hay. Then Oat Hay is what you should try out.
Oat Hay is a crunch-tastic hay that has several benefits which include great taste, and immature seed heads that your bunny enjoys feeding on.
You can mix oat hay and Orchard Grass Hay to achieve a perfect blend that will provide suitable hay for your rabbits.
4. Organic Meadow Hay
This hay is also a great choice to feed your rabbits.
There are several factors to consider when choosing the best hay for your rabbit.
However, if you desire to make the most environmentally conscious purchase, getting Organic Meadow hay is recommended.
There is also an amazing variety of hay for rabbits. This hay tastes more like Timothy’s hay.
It is good to know that Organic meadow hay is the only USDA-certified Organic hay for rabbits.
5. Alfalfa Hay
Alfalfa Hay is the best choice for grown rabbits. So if you have older rabbits, alfalfa hay will be great for them. This hay can’t be viewed as nutritionally interchangeable.
This is because alfalfa is more nutritional when you compare it with other hay. Alfalfa is not hay or grass per se, they are a legume.
Several rabbits enjoy feeding on alfalfa hay more than most of the hay we discussed above. But too much of everything is not right.
Alfalfa Hay can cause obesity and other health-related problems when consumed in large amounts over time.
How to Blend Two Hay to Achieve More Nutritional Hay
You are not limited to what magic you can perform with the Hay at your disposal.
Feel free to blend or mix the hay to achieve higher nutritional Hay which provides your rabbit with different varieties of hay to feed on.
Western Timothy & Orchard Grass Hay Blend
Bleeding Western Timothy and Orchard Grass Hay is a great way to diversify your rabbit feed.
The two blends will be sweet, soft, and high in fiber content.
It is more fun to buy both hays and blend them yourself. This will allow you to mix the hay in the proportion that you want.
The blend will come out more delicious, more enriching, and a great combination of tastes and textures.
Timothy and Meadow Hay Blend
This could also be an enriching taste and delicious combination.
This blend seems to be the favorite for rabbits all over the world. You can purchase this hay blend at any local farm or animal feed store.
This blend of hay is a bit sweeter than the Timothy hay alone. This blend will give your rabbit balanced textured hay.
Botanical Hay
Botanical Hay contains western Timothy hay with a little Herbal Twist.
If your rabbits are with a refined palate and feed more on finer things. Then we recommend you feed your rabbit with this hay.
This hay blend contains Oxbow western Timothy with a mix of some nutritious herbs which may include chamomile, lavender, and also lemon balm.
This offers a first-class taste to your rabbit when mixed with other hay or feed alone.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Hays is an essential part of your rabbit’s dietary needs.
Your rabbit should contain about 80 – 90% of hay. The importance of hay can’t be over-emphasized.
We have given you not just the best hay to feed your rabbit but also how to blend them to achieve more suitable hay.
